Terminal blocks are commonly used in telephone distribution lines. For example, a telephone cable will lead from the telephone company system to a terminal block. The terminal block has a base with a number of connection stations, for example 10 to 15. Each station has a separate electrical connector that will connect one twisted-pair of wires in the incoming telephone cable to a pair of drop lines that leads to one of the telephones. The wires from the incoming telephone cable are pre-wired into the stations of the base. Each station has two holes for insertion of the two wires from one of the drop lines. Normally, the station will have an insulation displacement connector (referred to herein as "IDC") terminal registering with each of the holes. An IDC terminal allows the operator to insert the end of the drop line into the hole provided in the station without stripping the insulation from the drop line. The IDC terminal includes a clip having a slit with two sharp edges that are biased toward one another. The wire is pressed through the slit toward the base, thereby making electrical contact without the need for stripping the insulation from the wire.
When installing distribution terminals, it is not uncommon for the telephone company cable to have more capacity than will be initially required by the telephone drop lines. For example, the incoming cable may have a capacity for 15 pairs of drop lines, but only eight will be used initially, although it is possible in the future that the rest will be utilized. The company installing the distribution terminal may install a terminal block that has 15 separate stations to match the full capacity of the telephone company cable even though only eight pairs of drop lines are being used initially. Later, when the other stations are going to be used, the additional drop lines can simply be inserted into the stations. However, a larger terminal block than initially needed is more expensive. On the other hand, if the company elects to install a smaller terminal block, it may find that it later has to replace the smaller terminal block with a larger one.
It is not uncommon for a need to exist to remove drop wires from a module and then reinsert the same or different drop wires. The module housings are filled with an insulating gel to prevent water and other undesirable environmental effects from entering the housing and possibly shorting out the electrical connection. The insulating gel is a viscous substance that does not fully harden with time. It is important on reinsertion that the insulating gel flows around the drop wires and continues to properly encapsulate the drop wires and the IDC clips.